Apparatus for filling and shaking a can



y 1956 E. H. SCHIMKAT 3,259,152

APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN Filed Jan. 31, 1963 5Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ERWIN H. SCHIMKAT AT TOR NE Y5 July 5, 1966 E.H. SCHEMKAT APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jan. 51, 1963 INVENTOR. ERWIN H- SCHIMKAT W g/w A T TOR NEYS .Euly5, 1966 E. H. SCHIMKAT APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan 31, 1963 INVENTOR. ERwaN H SQHIMK AT .Fuiy 5,1966 E. H. SCHIMKAT APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 31, 1963 /J|IE kl i xl INVENTOR. ERWIN HSCHIMKAT AT TORNE Y5 I Hut I I July 5, 1966 E. H. SCHIMKAT 3,259,152

' APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN Filed Jan. 31, 1965 5Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ERWIN H- SCHIMKATI AT TOR NE 75 United StatesPatent 3,259,152 APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SHAKING A CAN Erwin H.Schimkat, Glendale, N.Y., assignor to Auto Prod, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Jan. 31, 1963, Ser. No. 255,374 Claims.((31. 141-20) This invention is concerned with the 'art of producingcharged dispensing containers, and more particularly describes a machinefor the simultaneous injection of a propellant Within a container andthe shaking thereof whereby the said propellant and the other contentsof the con tainer will be mixed.

Pressurized cans dispensing products for home and industry use are wellknown today. Generally such a can will have a valve assembly wherein aproduct contained therein may be ejected under the pressure of thepropellant within the said can. Ordinarily a production line for suchdevices commences with open cans which are filled with a predeterminedquantity of the material desired to be later dispensed. The valveassembly is then inserted and generally crimped at the top of the can.Means may then be provided to fill the can with a propellant through thevalve assembly. It is desirable, however, to simultaneously shake thecan along its longitudinal axis as the propellant is being inserted sothat the material to be dispensed and the propellant may be uniformlymixed. This effect is desirable with almost all products so packaged butmay be especially important with certain dairy products such as cream,or the like, and water based formulations.

It is a cardinal object of this invention, therefore, to provide a fullyautomatic machine for pressure packaging a can while longitudinallyshaking the same.

Another primary object of the invention set forth herein is to present adevice as above-described that will operate on a continuous rotarybasis, as is most desirable for mass-production line techniques.

A still further object and accomplishment hereof is the provision of adevice that will simultaneously pressure package and shake a can, or beutilized for either of the immediately above functions independently.

Another principal object and accomplishment of this device is to providea machine as mentioned above that will be not only efficient, but safeand economical.

The above and other objects are accomplished by providing a fullyautomatic, rotary, continuous motion machine. The said machine has apositive start-stop shaking action for each of its individual shakerstations. Each station is adjustable for various size containers andvalves, and is adjustable for various lengths of shaking strokes. Eachcontainer is handled separately and independantly and proper filling isnot dependant upon other containers.

With these objects in view, the invention consists of the novel featuresof construction and arrangement of parts which will appear in thefollowing specification and recited in the appended claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings wherein the same referencenumerals indicate the same parts throughout the various figures and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the overall machine in operation.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the overall machine in operation.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of one station of the machinedescribed herein.

FIG. 4 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 3.

' FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIG.3.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 but showing another position ofthe station wherein a can ready for pressure packaging and shaking isabout to be inserted thereon.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate what may be for somepurposes a preferred embodiment of the invention, and especially toFIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an endless conveyor 10 accommodating acontinuous flow of cans 11 to and from the machine designated generallyas 12. The said cans 11 which advance to the machine 12 on the endlessconveyor 10 will each have a valve assembly 14 thereon and apredetermined quantity of the material to be dispensed, such as cream,therewithin.

The machine 12 will, as explained in detail hereinafter, receive eachcan 11, inject a propellant through the valve assembly 14, and shake thecan, thereby mixing the contents and the propellant. The machine 12 willthen return each can 11 to the exit portion 10a of the conveyor 10 forsubsequent operations such as inspection, capping, labelling, packaging,or the like.

As each can 11 reaches the machine 12, it will be guided to one of theshaking units or stations of the machine 12 as by guide rails 15 and arotating infeed rounded starwheel 16. The said rotating infeed starwheel16 will urge each can 11 onto one of the machine shaker platforms 18which will be at the proper elevation to receive the said can 11. Theinfeed starwheel 16 will be timed to synchronize each can 11 on eachplatform 18 to insure proper operation of the unit.

As will be further described in detail hereinafter, the machinepropellant nozzle 20 will then descend upon the can 11 causing the.injection of a quantity of propellant within each can 11. Thepropellant nozzle 20 will commence injection of the propellant prior tothe commencement of the shaking, and further, serve to clamp the can 11on the platform 18 during the shaking thereof.

The machine 12 will then rotate with each can 11 and will commence theshaking of each can. Each shaker station and can thereon will rotatewith the said machine 12 and positively shake each can 11 along itslongitudinal axis. The injection of the propellant will continue duringthe rotary motion of the machine as will the shaking and mixing action.As each can 11 reaches the discharge starwheel 21, the platform 18 willbe stopped at the proper elevation, thereby terminating the shaking andmixing action. The machine propellant nozzle 20 will be removed from thecan valve assembly 14 permitting the discharge of each can 11 to theportion 10a of the conveyor. This discharge may be assisted by astationary stripper guide 25.

Thus, the overall operation of the device will be apparent. The machine12 will dis-charge cans 11 filled with the material to be dispensed andwith a propellant uniformly mixed therewithin.

The propellant nozzle assembly Located above each can 11 as the said canis inserted on the shaker platform 18 will be a propellant nozzleassembly. Each nozzle assembly will include a nozzle bracket 31 and apropellant nozzle 20. Each machine propellant nozzle 20 will include a.normally pressure biased closed member which may be opened only upon thesaid machine nozzle 20 descending upon the can valve assembly 14. Thus,as each machinenozzle 20 is urged open by each of the can valveassemblies 14, communication will be established between the flexibleline 32 feeding the machine nozzle 20 and the interior of the can 11.The gas propellant being fed under pres-sure to the flexible line 3-2will be urged into each can 11. The discharge passage through eachmachine nozzle 20 may be adjusted to meter the flow of propellant intoeach can 11 at a desired rate.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, each flexible line 32 will be connected to amanifold 34 which will rotate withthe machine, thus providing thenecessary propellant to each of the flexible lines 32 at the requiredpredetermined pressure. The manifold 34 will be fed with the propellantfrom a central feed line 33.

Referring to FIG. 3, the position of a nozzle assembly is shown in solidin contact and in operative position with a can 11. Correspondingly, anozzle assembly is shown in phantom when in position to receive ordischarge a can 11.

Each nozzle assembly will be adjustably fastened on a nozzle support rod40 guided within the platform support rod 41 (see FIG. The said platformsupport rod 41 will be substantially hollow and will contain acompression spring 42 which will rest upon an annular extending portion44 of the said nozzle support rod 40. Thus, the spring 42 will urge thesaid rod 40 to one position which will correspond to the position shownin solid in FIG. 3 wherein the nozzle is operatively interconnected withthe can 11.

When each shaking unit or station is in the area or region wherein a canwill either be received or discharged, a cam controlled actuator 45(FIG. 3) will lift each nozzle assembly above the normal position of thecan 11 thus disconnecting the nozzle 20 from the valve assembly 14 ofthe can 11. The actuator 45 will normally be in nonengaging positionwith the nozzle support 31 except in the receiving and discharge areasof the machine 12, where it will be raised to the desired elevation,thereby raising the nozzle assembly by means of the stationary camportion a shown in phantom in FIG. 3. The actuator will rotate relativeto the cam 30 along with the remainder of the machine 12.

Thus, it will be apparent that the portion of the device above willeffect interconnection between the propellant manifold 34 and theinterior of each can 11 throughout the rotation of the machine 12,except in that area of the machine wherein each can 11 will be receivedor discharged. In that area, the raised cam portion 30a will raiseactuators 45 through rollers and lifters 46.

In that each of the machine nozzle-s 20 are normally closed and can beopened only upon contact with a can 11, it will be apparent that shoulda can fail to reach the station of the machine, the said machine nozzle20 will be inoperative and no gas propellant will be discharged,allowing continued proper operation of the machine.

The machine nozzles 20 serve an additional important function. It isnecessary to clamp each can 11 on each platform 18 in order to insureproper contact thereto. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the machine nozzles 20provided herein will fit securely about the crimped valves 14 of eachcan 11. In that each nozzle 20 is tightly urged against each can 11 byspring 42, the nozzles 20 will clamp each can 11 against each platform18 and prevent inadvertent movement thereof.

The can reciprocating mechanism As was mentioned heretofore, it isnecessary to reciprocate each can 11 longitudinally as the said can isbeing filled with the propellant to insure the mixing of the propellant.In the prior art, such attempts to mix have generally providedstructures wherein the can will be moved along at least a portion of anarc and generally the longitudinal movement of the can has beenrestricted. Due to the elongated configuration of most such cans 11,such an apparatus not only has been proven expensive and troublesome,but further, has not properly mixed the contents of the can 11. Forexample, it has been found that too small a movement in the elongateddirection of the can at the required high cycle rate will allow thecontents of the can 11 to remain relatively stationary in space exceptfor the upper and lowermost portions thereof. This invention, therefore,provides movement of each can 11 only along its elongated axis andfurther, provides the same over an easily adjustable distance. Thus, theproper mixing of the contents of each can 11 may be easily assured. Thereciprocation of each can 11 as it rotates with the machine 12 and isfilled with the propellant may be adjusted to any desired amount, whichis a principal object of this invention.

In the drawings, and especially in FIGS. 3 and 6, the accomplishment ofthis operation is described. It will, of course, be realized that inFIGS. 3 to 6 there is shown primarily one station of the machine. Theother stations of the machine will operate in similar fashion.

The entire mechanism of each station of the machine will be affixed to aframe 50 connected to a drive 51 for uniform and even rotation. Acentral gear 52 will be mounted on a center post for rotation. Eachstation of the machine will have a bevel gear 54 (FIG. 3) with teethmating with the central gear 52.

Therefore, as each bevel gear 54 rides about the device 12, it will becaused to rotate at a uniform speed. The shaft 55 of the bevel gear 54will be connected to a rotating c-am arm 56 through a clutch 58. Locatedoff center of the rotating cam arm 56 will be a pin 59 rotatablyconnecting the said rotating cam arm 56 to an oscillating connectingmember 60. The oscillating connecting member 66) in turn is pivotallyconnected to the lower portion of the platform support rod 41. Thus,rotation of the cam arm 56 will cause the oscillating member 60, and inturn the platform support rod 41, to vertically rise and descend. Inthat the platform support rod 41 will be guided (FIG. 5) only verticalmovement may be transmitted to the said platform support rod 41.

Thus, so long as the rotating arm 56 is operatively connected to thebevel gear 54 and so long as the device 12 is caused to rotate, eachplatform 18 will alternately rise and descend in quick successivemovements along with the rod 41. Thus, as the can 11 is filled with thepropellant, the can 11 will be rapidly agitated along its elongated axisaccording to a predetermined cycle thus causing the desired materialwithin the can 11 and the propellant being injected to be uniformlymixed.

The stroke of the support rod 41 and the platform 18 will be easilyadjusted merely by replacing the pin 59 position of the rotating camarms 56.

As mentioned heretofore, however, in the area of the machine wherein thecans are received and discharged, it will be desirable to maintain theplatform 18 in a fixed position and stationary to receive and dischargethe said cans 11. This may be accomplished by clutch means 58. When eachof the stations reach the discharge area, a bar 68 will contact the saidclutch 58 disengaging the said clutch 58 so that the rotation of thebevel gear 54 will not cause corresponding rotation of the rotating camarm 56. Thus, the arm 56 will now be stationary and will not allowmovement of the can supporting platform 18. The bar 68 will be caused todeactivate the said clutch 58 when the said can supporting platform 18is in a predetermined position. This will be the position wherein thecans may be conveniently inserted upon or removed from each of theplatforms 18 and will be apprlrgrimately from position A to position Bas shown in F 1.

Each bar 68 is secured at its lower end to an arm 101 carrying a camroller 1% which will ride on a cam 104. The cam 104 is level except forthe region from A to B wherein it is lowered (compare FIGS. 4 and 6).The clutch 58 will normally engage the bevel gear 54 and the arm 56except when contacted by the bar 68. The bar 68 will contact the clutch58 as shown in FIG. 6 only when the cam roller 102 is depressed byspring into the lower portion of cam 104.

It will thus be realized that the machine provided herein willaccomplish all of the objects previously set forth. The cans 11 will beuniformly received, will be filled with :a propellant, and will bereciprocated to obtain a predetermined desired result. It is importantthat the can 11 be agitated along its elongated axis in a uniformmanner.

The entire device, together with the cans 11, may be rotated 90 degreeswherein the elongated axis of each of the cans 11 will be horiz-ontal aswill be the agitation of the machine.

The machine described above has many inherent advantages other than asoutlined heretofore. For example, it receives only one can at a time andits rate is, therefore, adjustable. Should a can fail to reach a stationof the machine at a proper time, the station will continue to rotatewithout the can and without any malfunction. No propellant will be lostin that the flow of the propellant can only be commenced by theinteraction of the can valve and the machine valve. Should a can not bein position, the machine valve will not open and no propellant will bedispensed.

It will be noted that all the portions of the machine disclosed hereinare positive and there is no room for machine error. The shaking action,the filling, the rotation, the stopping of each platform at the desiredelevation to receive or discharge a can, are all positive.

Additionally, the machine disclosed herein lends itself to a safe, aswell as efficient operation. Automatic safety devices may be installedas well as stop devices to stop the machine should an unusual pressurebe applied at any point thereof.

Of further importance is the even flow of propellant. In many of theprior art devices, a series or bank of cans are filled simultaneously,thus yielding an intermittent fiow of the propellant. Either a no-flowcondition or a large-flow condition will exist at any time in suchdevices. In this instant machine, however, wherein cans aresuccessive-1y and individually filled, there is a continuous and uniformflow of the propellant.

There may be separate drive mechanisms, one for rotation of the entiremachine, and a second for the controlling of the reciprocating up-downmotion of the individual shaker stations. This is to provide maximumadjustability for difierent product and propellant and mixtures thereof.

It is to be noted that throughout the course of this specification, theterms container and can were utilized. It is to be emphasized, however,that the instant invention will be usable in conjunction with anenclosure such as a glass or plastic bottle or can or any sort ofcontainer.

While there are above disclosed but a limited number of embodiments ofthe structure and product of the invention herein presented, it ispossible to produce still other embodiments Without departing from theinventive concept herein disclosed, and it is desired, therefore, thatonly such limitations be imposed on the appended claims as are statedtherein, or required by the prior art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for simultaneously injecting pressurized propellant intoand shaking cans, said machine comprising: a rotary frame, frame drivemeans connected to said frame for effecting rotation thereof, aplurality of rods carried by said frame in parallelism with andcircumferentially spaced about the axis of frame rotation, said rodsbeing mounted on said frame for rotation therewith and longitudinalreciprocatory movement relative to said frame, a plurality ofcan-receiving platforms respectively carried by said rods for rotativemovement therewith about a closed path through a loading and unloadingregion, a plurality of rotary eccentric drives on said frame and eachconnected to a respective rod for effecting longitudinal vibratoryreciprocation thereof during rotation with said frame, eccentric-driveactuating means operatively connected to s-aid eccentric drives todisable each eccentric drive during movement of its associated platformthrough said loading and unloading region, a plurality of injectionnozzles each located adjacent to a respective platform and carried bythe associated rod for rotation and reciprocation with the adjacentplatform to inject propellant into a can on the adjacent platform duringits rotative and reciprocatory movement, and a plurality ofnozzle-spacing means carried by said frame each operatively connected toa respective nozzle to space the latter from its adjacent platformduring platform movement through said loading and unloading region.

2. A machine according to claim 1, in combination with means forselectively varying the eccentricity of each of said eccentric drives,to vary the vibratory reciprocation of any selected rod.

3. A machine according to claim 1, said nozzles each being resilientlybiased toward its adjacent can-receiving platform, and saidnozzle-spacing means comprising camactuated means operative to move saidnozzles against said resilient biasing action.

4. A machine according to claim 1, said eccentric-drive actuating meanseach comprising a rotary motion-transmitting clutch, and aclutch-operating arm engageable with the clutch to disengage the latterwhen the associated can-receiving platform reciprocates to apredetermined position: and moves into said loading and unloadingregion.

5. In a machine for simultaneously injecting pressurized propellant intoand shaking cans, the combination comprising: a rotary frame, framedrive means connected to said frame for effecting rotation thereof, aplurality of can-receiving platforms arranged circumferentially aboutsaid frame, a plurality of platform-mounting means on said frame eachmounting one of said platforms for rotative movement with said frame andindependent vibratory reciprocation relative to said frame, a pluralityof vibratory drive means carried by said frame and each connected to arespective platform-mounting means for effecting vibratory reciprocationof the associated platform, actuating means operatively connected tosaid vibratory drive means to disable the latter upon platform rotationthrough a can-loading and -unloading region, a plurality of injectionnozzles each located adjacent to a respective platform and carried bythe associated platform-mounting means for rotation and recipr-ocationwith the adjacent platform to inject propellant into a can on theadjacent platform during its rotative and reciprocatory movement, and aplurality of nozzle-spacing means carried by said frame each operativelyconnected to a respective nozzle to space the latter from its adjacentplatform during platform movement through said loading and unloadingregion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,239,385 4/1941Harder 141-148 2,478,212 8/1949 Thoms 141-64 2,548,589 4/ 1951 Chelle141-147 X 2,584,063 1/1952 Suellentrop 141-74 X 2,723,790 11/1955 Spiesset a1. 141-3 3,123,104 3/1964 Weston et al. 141-64 LAVERNE D. GEIGER,Primary Examiner.

E. EARLS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A MACHINE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY INJECTING PRESSURIZED PROPELLANT INTOAND SHAKING CANS, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING: A ROTARY FRAME, FRAME DRIVEMEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME FOR EFFECTING ROTATION THEREOF, APLURALITY OF RODS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME IN PARALLELISM WITH ANDCIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED ABOUT THE AXIS OF FRAME ROTATION, SAID RODSBEING MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR ROTATION THEREWITH AND LONGITUDINALRECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME, A PLURALITY OFCAN-RECEIVING PLATFORMS RESPECTIVELY CARRIED BY SAID RODS FOR ROTATIVEMOVEMENT THEREWITH ABOUT A CLOSED PATH THROUGH A LOADING AND UNLOADINGREGION, A PLURALITY OF ROTARY ECCENTRIC DRIVES ON SAID FRAME AND EACHCONNECTED TO A RESPECTIVE ROD FOR EFFECTING LONGITUDINAL VIBRATORYRECIPROCATION THEREOF DURING ROTATION WITH SAID FRAME, ECCENTRIC-DRIVEACTAUTING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID ECCENTRIC DRIVES TODISABLE EACH ECCENTRIC DRIVE DURING MOVEMENT OF ITS ASSOCIATED PLATFORMTHROUGH SAID LOADING AND UNLOADING REGION, A PLURALITY OF INJECTIONNOZZLES EACH LOCATED ADJACENT TO A RESPECTIVE PLATFORM AND CARRIED BYTHE ASSOCIATED ROD FOR ROTATION AND RECIPROCATION WITH THE ADJACENTPLATFORM TO INJECT PROPELLANT INTO A CAN ON THE ADJACENT PLATFORM DURINGITS ROTATIVE AND RECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT, AND A PLURALITY OFNOZZLE-SPACING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME EACH OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TOA RESPECTIVE NOZZLE TO SPACE THE LATTER FROM ITS ADJACENT PLATFORMDURING PLATFORM MOVEMENT THROUGH SAID LOADING AND UNLOADING REGION.